Pain shot through Wynter’s body as fingers grabbed her hair, pulling her to her feet. The man slammed her up against him, holding the gun to her head. With her back to his chest, she faced Logan whose boat grew smaller as the distance between them widened. A loud gunshot jolted Wynter, and she tried to wretch her body out of his grip. Blood sprayed as more shots rang out. As she felt his grip loosen, Wynter tumbled onto the deck. She clawed at the slippery surface, intending to jump, when the chill of a second voice blanketed her consciousness. As she caught a glimpse of the familiar face, her heart stopped. The Directeur?
A blur of revolting confusion and hopelessness overtook her body. No, this couldn’t be happening. Wynter glanced at Fiona who now sat comfortably, almost peacefully staring toward the horizon. Deception. Betrayal. The Directeur grabbed Wynter, pulling her off her feet into his deadly embrace. She prayed for strength as she let the anger roll through her mind. Anger was good, she thought. It might be the only thing that would save them all.
The sailboat careened away while Dimitri and Logan helplessly watched in disbelief. One fucking hour on the lake. Four men on guard, and within seconds, they’d taken her and Fiona. As they sped off into the distance, the miles-wide freshwater sanctuary hid their path of escape. Logan screamed out to the heavens in agony. His mate was gone.
“Search every goddamned house,” Logan growled.
“I’m sorry,” Dimitri offered.
“No, D. No words. Action. You,” Logan pointed to Zeke and Jake, “every boat. Every pack member needs to be accounted for. I want every wolf up at Marcel’s old place now. I don’t give a shit who’s in the city. Every damn wolf is to get their ass back here immediately,” he ordered. “Someone came into the marina today and cut that hose. I want to see the video now.”
Enraged, Logan paced as he barked out orders. Someone had betrayed him, he was certain of it. First the car bomb. Now this. No, it wasn’t happenstance that the hose was cut. It had been deliberately done in such a way to allow them enough gas to go out to the lake, but not enough to get back. Whoever had done it knew exactly where they were going and how long they’d be on the lake. It may have been a vampire who’d killed Dana, but it was a wolf who had helped coordinate Wynter’s abduction. No one but one of his own wolves would have had access to his boat.
“The pack will be at Marcel’s soon. You want to ride with?” Dimitri asked, trying to block the emotion he felt emanating from Logan. His Alpha’s caustic rage seethed through his own brain as if they were his own thoughts.
Logan shook him off. As much as he loved D, he couldn’t bear to be near him. He was scarcely containing his beast as his unbridled wrath escalated. It wouldn’t be good for Dimitri to be so close to him.
“I’m taking my bike. You take the SUV.” Logan stopped and rubbed his eyes. “Seriously, D. This ends tonight. I’m going to tear up this entire swamp looking for her. She’s got to be here. Every single marina’s been secured. No one could land a chopper except at the helipad. Jake’s sent men to check the outposts along the lake. No, whoever’s done this is still here.”
“Hey, I’m with ya, but we’re talking about literally thousands of square acres of swamp. In the dark. They could pull off anywhere, skip into a car and be gone.”
“No,” Logan growled. “Wynter’s here. I can feel her.”
“But why would they stay here…it doesn’t make sense. Logan, I think…”
“Because they’re goin’ to kill her. They don’t need her anymore. My guess is now that she’s turned, all they want is her blood.” Logan took a deep breath and blew it out, trying to think clearly. “Text Devereoux. I want him here now. And before you ask, I don’t care how he gets here. Send the bird if you need to. His line is responsible for this fucking mess. I’ll kill him myself if he doesn’t comply and you can quote me on that.”
Dimitri pulled out his phone and started making calls. Logan went to his gun safe that was located in the laundry room. He extracted several guns, ammo, and strapped on a harness. He preferred to go wolf, but he wasn’t taking any chances. In the bayou, his wolf may not be able to get to shore fast enough. A bullet, however, would.
By the time they’d reached Marcel’s home, Logan was convinced he knew who had sabotaged his boat. Ferocious, his wolf sought revenge. Nothing but having his mate back safely in his arms would assuage his rage. He killed the engine and jumped off his motorcycle.
“Hold up, Alpha,” Jake called over to him.
“What’d you find out?”
“I don’t know…it doesn’t make sense,” Jake hedged, incredulous as to what he’d seen on the video.
Luci rushed over to Logan, eyes down. “Alpha,” she greeted.
At the sight of her, Logan lost it. If anyone had reason to attack him and Wynter, it had been Luci. He should have recognized her aggressive behavior. How she’d connected with the vampires, he didn’t know, but he was about to damn well find out why.
“Just where the hell do you think you’re going?” As Luci turned to walk away, Logan grabbed her arm.
Jake stepped between them.
“Jake, get out of my way. This is between Luci and me,” he snarled.
“But Alpha,” Jake began.
“I told you, Luci and I have business.” Logan turned his gaze back to her. “I should have known better than to let you stay in the pack. You’ve been so hot to get in my bed ever since he died. Seriously, did you even care about Marcel? Now listen good, I’m only going to ask you this once. What did you do with Wynter?”
“I didn’t…I swear. It wasn’t me,” she cried.
“Where. Is. She?”
“I didn’t…”
Jake put his hand over Logan’s, risking a fight. He couldn’t let Logan continue after Luci, even though she deserved at least a little bit of his ire.
“Alpha, please. You need to see this,” he pleaded.
“What?” Logan asked. His eyes flared.
“The video. Your boat. Luci didn’t do it. But someone else from the pack is on there…I’m sorry,” Jake said, shaking his head.
“Who? Who did this?” Logan demanded.
“See for yourself.” Jake pulled out his mini iPad, and pressed the play button.
Logan couldn’t believe it. Of all the people in his pack, it made no sense. The person hadn’t even tried to hide from the camera. Instead after they’d cut the line, the perpetrator purposefully stared into the lens and smiled.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Wynter’s wolf whined in agonizing pain, begging to shift. Instinctively, she knew a transformation could heal her injuries, but as she called on her wolf, nothing happened. Her head lolled back against a rough surface and she licked her cracked lips. An iron-tinged crust stuck to her tongue. She felt heavy, drained. Wynter slid her fingertips down her sides and felt metal on her midsection. She shook her head, willing her eyes to open. As she looked to her torso, she was shocked to see the silver chainmail corset that had been fastened to her body. Tugging at the seams, she couldn’t get it to budge.
The lethargy didn’t stop her from scanning the room for a clue to where they’d taken her. A dilapidated cabin? Was it the cabin they’d been in the night she shifted? The lack of screened windows and rotted wood told her no. Listening as Logan had taught her, she could hear the cicadas but other than that, she was met with silence. She knew, though, that she had to be somewhere in the swamp.